


I Will Be Back

by Oswald_Nygmobblepot



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Gotham (TV)
Genre: Angst, M/M, WWII AU, not a happy fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 00:31:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10546972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oswald_Nygmobblepot/pseuds/Oswald_Nygmobblepot
Summary: WWII AU - Edward has been drafted to war and made a very important promise to his long time lover, Oswald.





	

_‘I will be back.’_ That promise rang through his head every day for the past four months he’d been in this hell hole. That promise rang through his head every day … Keeping him alive. He lay back against the dirt wall of the trench, his gun against his chest as explosions rang around them. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing, trying to calm his mind. He imagined he was anywhere but here right now. Back home with Oswald … Lying in bed, staring at Oswald’s amazingly green eyes. He imagined what it would be like to come home to him, to reach the airport and run into his arms, social acceptance be damned.

But the explosions were too damn loud, the screams around him ringing in his head as if they came from within and Edward couldn’t imagine Oswald anymore. Not the way he wanted to. Still …. _‘I will be back.’_ That promise kept him alive. That promise kept him going. He waited for the last explosion to die down and jumped up from the trench right next to one of his comrades and ran, his gear weighing him down, and he wondered for the millionth time what the point was. Against the bombs, against the grenades against the bullets flying from the airplane above and the men in front of him … What little protection they had would do nothing.

Edward was terrified as bullets tore through the ground in a line next to him and he dove to the side, landing on his stomach before jumping back up again and kept running. Despite the pounding of his heart in his chest, so rapid he was amazed it didn’t give out, he kept pushing forward. He knew if he went back he would be shot by his own men … He couldn’t be a coward.

He knew his friend …. What was his name? John? Jim? He thinks it’s Jim … He knew Jim was screaming something at him, but over the noise and the ringing in his ears he couldn’t hear anything. And then everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

He felt the ground below him give out, felt pain in his leg, was dimly aware of Jim falling after him, but they were falling. It felt like he fell a lot longer than he had but he hit the bottom within mere seconds, Jim nearly landing on top of them. Edward cried out in pain, the sound barely audible over the noise of battle as Jim stood up, the top of the hole they’d fallen in a good four feet above Jim’s head. Way too high to reach the top.

“Are you okay?” Jim yelled over the noise. Edward nodded, but he knew his leg was bad. He could see red blood in the muddy water around his leg and he moved up into a sitting position against the dirt wall. He nodded as he looked around. The walls were steep, and wet, the dirt lining the edges no use to hold, and still, Jim attempted. After a few moments Jim ducked, debris flying over the hole.

“We’re going to get buried in here!” Edward said, his voice actually audible in a brief lull in the noise.

“If we’re not found and shot first.” Jim said looking around trying to find a way out. _‘I will be back.’_ Edward closed his eyes. Edward had always kept his promises to Oswald … But right now … He felt like he couldn’t keep this one.

Edward was unsure of the time, his watch long since damaged in the last battle, and Jim did not have one either. It must have been hours as it was getting dark now, and the battle had quieted to a dull roar, sounding as if it had moved on. His leg was aching even worse than when they fell. Jim had stopped trying to climb out on his own a while ago. He’d gotten close, but gun fire had made him draw back before he’d made it out.

“It’s quiet.” Edward whispered. So quiet that his voice felt too loud in the hole. Neither of them called for help for fear that it would not be their own men to find them.

“It is …” Jim said staring down at the murky water that had been slowly rising since they’d fallen in. It was now up to their waists where they sat. Edward held his hand out to Jim.

“Help me up onto my knee … You can climb up onto my shoulders … Get out.” Edward said. Jim looked at Edward, uncertainly. But they had to do something.

“I’ll find something out there to get you out.” Jim said grabbing onto Edward’s wrist and helping him up. They both knew that there would be nothing up there. Nothing but barbed wire, metal and dirt. Edward held all of his weight on his good knee and braced his hands on the wet muddy wall. This was it then … This is where he would die ... alone.

He closed his eyes as he heard the water moving behind him. He knew Jim was watching him, uncertain. “Jim, just do it. You have a wife and child at home.”

“And you have someone who loves you too.” Jim said, knowing about the hundreds of letters that Edward had sent home.

“He’ll …” Edward paused, blinking away tears. “He’ll be fine without me.” He said. “Now go …” He said. Jim hesitated another moment before he nodded.

“It was an honour serving with you.” Jim said moving towards him. “I will send help as soon as I find someone.” He said, though they both know the chances of anyone getting there, let alone getting there before Edward passed, was slim to none. Edward said nothing as Jim climbed up onto his shoulders and Edward groaned in pain as some of the weight went onto his bad leg. Jim was hesitating on his shoulders, and Edward knew he was scouting the area to see if it was clear. It must have been as Jim jumped off his shoulders, pushing himself up onto solid land and without looking back ran back across the battlefield.

Edward fell back into the water, laying back on the muddy wall, barely able to see anything. His only source of light was the stars above him, and he was grateful that it was a clear night.

He wondered, as he stared up at the stars if Oswald was staring up at them too. Looking out from the balcony of their apartment, watching the same stars he was. The only thing currently connecting them … The only thing they could feasibly do together while so far away. The last thing they would ever do together.

Edward hissed as he lifted his leg, bending it at the knee so that it was out of the water. He pulled a small notepad out of the front of his jacket pocket, luckily still mostly dry. He pulled the small pencil out of the coiled top and began to write as best as he could with what little light he had.

_Dear Oswald,_

_I know I made you a promise, and I did everything I could to keep it. But_

Edward paused in his writing. What could he possibly say. There was nothing he could say and nothing he could do. He was going to break his promise and it was entirely out of his control. Even if Jim had managed to help him out, he wouldn’t have made it back on his leg … He would have just slowed Jim down, increased their risk of capture. Or worse.

No … This was for the best.

_I’m sorry … I’m so sorry. I can’t even express in words. Please be assured that despite what happens to me, I am at peace knowing that you are safe. That you are at home, in no danger, and not here with me. I promise you I am not in any pain …_

That part was a lie … God it hurt so much. But anything he could do to help ease Oswald's mind … Keep his pain to a minimum … Even if it meant lying, he would give him that.

_And I am not afraid._

Another lie. He was terrified, and in a way, he knew Oswald would know that ...

_If you get this, and I pray that you do, I love you. I always have, and I always will. And I know you Oswald … I know you will cling to the memory of me but … I don’t want that. I want you to be happy. I want you to find someone who will be there for you … When you’re ready._

Edward angrily threw his glasses across the hole he was trapped in, and furiously wiped the tears from his face. This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t right. He didn’t ask for this … He didn’t want this. He never wanted to serve his country, he wasn’t like Jim. Jim had volunteered … Jim wanted this. Jim was a soldier … Edward hadn’t had a choice.

He took a deep breath, tears dripping off of his chin as he started to panic.

_I love you, so much._

_-Ed._

The pencil dropped from his hands, splashing into the water and sinking to the bottom as he shoved the paper back into his front pocket, as high out of the water as possible.

He leaned back against the wall again, the pain in his leg getting worse and he wished he could blank it all out. Wish he would fall unconscious … Wish this wasn’t so slow.

He shivered as he stared up at the stars again, wondering if he was actually cold from the temperature outside and the water around him, or if it was from blood loss. He couldn’t tell. All he knew was that his teeth were chattering, he was shaking, and he was scared.

He closed his eyes as exhaustion started to pull at him, despite his shaking. He knew he should try to stay awake … Try to fight the lure of sleep. Sleep was bad … This sleep would be permanent. _‘I will be back’_ Edward couldn’t fight it anymore … At least if he was asleep … He could dream of being with Oswald again … If he was asleep … He wouldn’t feel any pain.

 

(A/N - Do you guys want more? Should I wrote more of this? Let me know in the comments.) 


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